Evaluation part 4

How did you use media technologies in the planning, production, and evaluation stages?

The technologies i have used to get to my final product are;

• Blogger
• i movie
• pixlr.com
• moonfruit
• Youtube

Blogger was used to upload all of my work onto in a certain format. I have experienced many difficulties when using blogger, for example rearranging the order of my posts has been difficult and i still haven't been able to overcome this. Also when it came to uploading images it would only accept certain formats meaning i had to keep uploading until i found the correct one which was usually a jpeg. However i preferred using blogger to having to print and word process all of my different documents.

I used i movie to put my trailer together and edit it. This is the programme that was most helpful to me when making my trailer. I experienced many problems with this such as my sound would keep disappearing meaning me having to upload this all again. Overall my experiences were quite good, i feel that it was the right programme to use, to make my trailer look the best it could. Another problem was that when i went to upload it to youtube it wouldn't let me do this from the MAC software i had to export it then upload it on a windows computer.

I used pixlr.com to design my poster and also the typography that went onto my poster and my trailer and also my website. This website was very easy to use and had many different affects and filters that i played around with until i was happy with my design.  However due to how many different effects there were i feel that i could have made my typography even more effective.

Moonfruit was helpful to help me create my website which was one of my ancillary texts. It took me a while to get used to the software and i  had problems like, images and text going missing meaning having to upload this again, which put me behind on my targets. However after learning how to use it it was very easy and sufficient for what i needed it for.



I used youtube to upload my video. Although having difficulties uploading from certain computer and certain formats, i finally found the correct format to do this and then it only took a couple of minutes to complete the process. This is a way that i would advertise my trailer to my audience. If i had uploaded it earlier the comments would have been useful for my audience feedback, however this wasn't the case.

Evaluation part 3

What have I learned from my audience feedback?

Throughout developing my campaign i have referred to creating some focus groups in certain areas where i thought that my target audience feedback would be necessary to improve my final products. During pre-production whilst carrying out my market research i decides that i would show a film trailer to my target audience, and them asking them the following questions;

•  How did it make you feel?
• What did you like and what didn't you like?
• would you want to see the whole film and why?

The general feedback i got was that the audience felt tense and puzzled by the narrative they also felt involved. They wanted to see the whole film but they felt as thought he trailer gave away too much. They found that the sound did not link to horror and needed to make them feel scared.

During my production of the film trailer i felt that it was necessary to ask the audience what they thought about certain clips and typography.

This was my original typography for my title of my film trailer and also the rhetorical questions that i asked through out. I showed this to two people in my target audience, this is the feedback they gave me;


Kate McCall: It uses the colours that are associated with horror, however it looks quite bland and doesn't stand out.
Daryl Adams: I think that i would look better if the writing was more bold and related to horror slightly more, also i think it would look good if the writing was in red and the background black so the writing could resemble blood.

 After taking this critical feedback into account i further used their opinions to design something different that would be of expectation of my target audience. I then made changes to my typography in my trailer taking into account the audience feedback. I swapped the colours around, to a black background and red writing, although the writing doesn't resemble blood here i feel that it uses the codes and conventions of the genre correctly. I have also edited the image using pixlr.com where there i used the vein brush to create the effect. When put it into i-movie i used the dream filter to create the glow effect, i am now pleased with my final design and i the product is now fit for purpose.

When i had completed my trailer i showed it to some 3 people from my target audience;

Daryl Adams 21 years old

Kate McCall 18 years old

Charlie Rawlinson 17 years old

  

I feel that i have achieved my intention for my final project, and how i planned it to be. I also believe that the product is fit for purpose and would be a new artifact withing the same industry if it was to be released as a film. I have encountered problems throughout my production, and this is where i used audience feedback to resolve this. I feel as though i could have managed my production more efficiently as sometimes i did not stay exactly to my production schedule, because of the unknown problems i faced and then overcame.
The first problem i came across when filming was the mirror scene i found it hard to film the clip without the reflection of the camera being in the image too. after several outtakes of filming this clip i found it was best to stand to the side of the actor and film from a low angle. Although i was not happy with this being shot in that way, i could not find another technique to overcome this issue.
The second problem was filming in the day when i wanted my film to take place overnight. I could not film at night due to health and safety issues, which i then thought wouldn't be a problem as when it came to editing the trailer i could find a way to overcome this, however this wasn't the case. After trying almost every filter possible even day/night my clips wouldn't look like they were filmed at night.
The sound was a main issue, after finally finding the correct sound and uploading ti to my trailer, i found that every time i would open up i movie to continue editing my sound would not work, IT solutions manged to fix this problem.
I am happy with the location that i chose to film at, and the props that i have used as i feel that they are typical of what is used withing the horror genre. 

Evaluation part 2

How effective is the combination of my main product and ancillary texts ?

My ancillary texts that i have created is a website and a poster. I feel that these are the most appropriate ways of advertising within my campaign. My target audience is aged between 17-22  and during my primary and secondary research i asked the question "how would you prefer the trailer to be advertising?" the feedback i got given was that they would prefer to see it formatted in website form a the majority of the time they spend using the Internet and like to use interactive sites. The poster can be seen everywhere, and will be a good way of adverting the film. If i was producing the film for real, i would place the poster on places that would attract my target audience; for example on buses, as many people aged in this category use public transport. Also on billboards, so people would clearly see the advertisement.

I am happy with my finished product and i believe that it fits on with my other ancillary texts due to having used the same typography and images throughout.

I showed my website to my focus group where they gave me feedback on what they liked and disliked.

I initially encountered a few problems when starting up my website page, i found that at times when i logged on to edit the page images and headings were missing meaning i had to upload these again, this happened a couple of times, meaning i was behind with my target. Having overcome these issues i am pleased with the outcome. The typography i have used is the same as my poster and trailer. Also the background image is the same of that i have used on my poster.

The general feedback from the trailer itself can be referred to in evaluation part 2. I feel that the combination of my main product and my ancillary, are effective when used together as they all relate to one another due to the typography that i have used, along with the images and the different rhetorical questions that i have asked my audience.

Evaluation Part 1

In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms of conventions of real media product?

A media product similar to my horror campaign the trailer and the ancillary texts, must obey the correct codes and conventions of that particular genre (horror) in order to be successful. They must comply with the expectations of the legal rules such as copyright, decency and publishing. Also most importantly they must be able to attract their target audience.

When i decided that my genre for my film trailer was going to be horror, i immediately knew i had to use secondary research on other horror film trailers and analyse the codes and conventions that they had used to construct the media text. After i had done this i thought it would be a good idea to use primary research and produce a questionnaire to ask people what they thought made up a horror film trailer i carried this out in my questionnaire earlier on in my research and development, this is where i also found my target audience of 17-22 year old.

The typical codes and conventions of horror i discovered were;

• Dark composed colours
• Masked killers (particular in slasher films)
• Makes the audience jump
• Left on a cliff hanger
• Mystery narrative
• Weapons such as knifes and guns
• Blood

This picture clearly shows horror to the audience. It is indicated by the way the audience is positioned, as though they are being threatened by the girl. This is clearly done by the way the eyes look threatening. The blood is also a code and convention of the horror genre. When showing this to my audience earlier on i asked the question "how does this make you feel?" the feedback i got was they felt as though they were being watch and almost possessed by the character who may already be possessed, they also told me that there was a clear indication that this was a horror film.

I then decided to use the same ideologies of the same codes and conventions in my trailer. I have used the idea of being possessed and positioning the audience to either feel sympathetic for the character or feel controlled by them. As my narrative is different the character is tied up which indicates to the audience she is in danger and vulnerable which is a typical convention of horror. I used fake blood in order to make the character look as though she has been hurt by a weapon or the villain this can highlight the sub genre if slasher. My target audience told me that this image used in my trailer is a good indication of horror and connects with the audience making them feel apart of the trailer. I feel as though my image fits in with the codes and conventions and would be successful in the film industry and would easily comply with the legal obligations that it would face.

The idea of the masked killer is also and obvious convention of horror. This image is taken from scream which is a classic horror/slasher film also other texts such as Halloween have a masked killer. The message behind having a asked killer is that it creates more tension for an audience as we do not know who or what it is.

Again i have used the same ideologies, as the messages conveyed by the image above. I thought by having a masked villain it would create more tension for my target audience withing the trailer, and would make them want to see the whole film. Also having carried out my focus group on my trailer my target audiecnce have said that they would want to know who the masked villain was later on in the film.

When creating my trailer i found it hard to bring in the correct codes and conventions to make up the rules of the horror genre. But after researching a lot of horror film campaigns, it became apparent to me what the rules for that genre where. I feel that i have used these successfully in my trailer and i have managed to create a new artifact that fits into the market for a similar product that is currently being successfully sold today's, in cinemas and then released onto DVDs.

This image is a moving image, which i found difficult to edit to make it more "horrific" after trying different filter on i movie i finally decided to make the composition of the image a lot brighter as it would bring the possession feel to the audience a lot more. my first intentions was to use the x-ray filter however this was unsuccessful as it made the clip become too unclear of what was happening so the closer i could do was to brighten it.

My  trailer is a teaser trailer and is therefore only 47 seconds long. The codes and conventions of a teaser trailer is to not give too much away about the narrative to the audience, as it should not spoil it for them but be enough to make them want to see the entire film.

The final product

WEBSITE LINK: http://amyosborn1.moonfruit.com/

THE TRALIER: 

Poster production

I edited it to make it become lighter, almost as it looks like the x-ray effect which is commonly used in horror and is immediately recognised by the audience. I also filtered it by using a lens shot which creates a voyeuristic effect, and positions the audience as though they are looking at the victim as though they are the villain.

Poster production

This is the orginal photo that i have put into the ediditing programme pixlr.com

The trailer

I haven't been able to publish my trailer onto youtube due to unexpected sound issues, and the system generally letting my upload the video.

Editing

Recently i have been editing my film trailer, so it meets the requirements of my primary and secondary research that i have gathered. the different ediitng techniques i have used on i-movie are;

• Night/day
• sepia
• negative
• ex-ray

These all relate to the genre of horror and have worked successfully i my trailer.
I have also used pixlr.com to create my typography that i have used within my trailer, the effects i used in this programme were also very good to use, in order too for my audience to have a clear understanding of the genre straight away.

First draft typography

This is my first draft for the opening typography for my teaser trailer,  like the text and the added stamps that i have used. i have used pixlr.com to photoshop my image. Although i am happy with my image, may target audience have suggested that i need to add more images.

Todays target

Today i will be writing and editing my typography, then  be put into my trailer.

The Production Sehdule

Location Permission Slip

Actors Contracts

Risk Assessment

Props Request List

Call Sheet

Following the pitch

After presenting my idea for my film trailer, I am now working on my actors contract, call sheet and production schedule. Also the location permission for the filming to take place. These documents will allow me to be efficient when filming and also the actors will know where they need to be and at what times. I have also decided the start date for filming this will be 13th of Feburary.

Pitch Evaluation

I carried out my pitch on the 17/1/12. This is where i presented my idea for my horror film, to see whether i could go ahead with my idea. From this i was given the go ahead but also i received some critical analysis from my pitch and how it could have been better these were; to have showed a film trailer already made as part of my secondary research for my genre, and talked about how i will use the codes and conventions of that trailer in my horror film.
Also i needed to talk about my target audience in a lot more detail from the findings of my primary research. I needed to include the pyscographics of my audience which i could have asked in my focus group, however from secondary research and talking to friends that are in my age for my audience, i have gathered that the hobbies would be socialising in their sare time also just having a film and a takeaway and a night in, so my horror trailer would appeal for a socialising event as horror films would usually be watched in groups.
                   My advertising research needed to contain more i did not ask my audience weatehr they would like to see the film advertised via the internet. However i gathered this needed information through secondary research and people withing the age group that a website is one of the best ways to advertise my film. My storyboards could have also been clearer and more decriptive about the type of shot being used. Also within my exploratory work I could have showed a clip of the location I am filming in.
               

Pitch redone